The 'Post' journalist wins award

The 'Post' journalist wins award

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Jakarta Post's reporter I Wayan Juniartha won the
International Harm Reduction Association (IHRA) Media Award 2003
for his honest and courageous reporting of issues related to the
reduction in the use of illegal drugs.

The trophy plus a certificate was presented in Chiang Mai,
Thailand, on Thursday night by Indonesia's former minister of
religion Tarmizi Taher during the closing ceremony of the 14th
International Conference on the Reduction of Drug Related Harm.
The five-day conference was attended by over 920 delegates
from 63 countries.

"The Award is our way to acknowledge the important role the
media and journalists have in raising public awareness over
various harms caused by drug using and the effective methods to
address those dangers," IHRA executive director Patrick O'Hare
said.

Juniartha wrote several articles about illicit drugs in The
Jakarta Post since he joined the daily as Bali-based
correspondent in 1999. His writings on the topic have also
appeared in Kompas daily.

Senior Technical Advisor for FHI (Family Health
International)/Aksi Stop AIDS (ASA) Prof. Wayne Wiebel, who has
worked extensively with Indonesian's harm reduction NGOs and
activists, said that Juniartha's name came up during his
discussion with the conference director Ton Smits and Patrick
O'Hare.

"There were several names on the list, and I suggested that
Juniartha would be the best selection, not only because he
deserved it but also because it would increase the visibility of
Indonesia. Our work is focusing on a targeted population but we
surely need the larger public's support and that's what the media
do best," he said.

Juniartha, who was invited to cover the conference by the AHRN
(Asian Harm Reduction Network), said that he was both humbled and
honored by the award.

Speaking before the conference's participants he pointed out
that journalists were just the witness in the struggle, in which
the true fighters were the NGOs and activists, who had committed
their lives to ensuring that drug users acquired better access to
health, education and social services currently being
denied to them.

AHRN also pledged to give Juniartha a full-scholarship to
attend the 2004 conference in Melbourne.

Harm reduction or, in some countries, known as harm
minimization is a series of comprehensive and pragmatic methods
and approaches in reducing the harm caused by drug abuse to the
society and individuals without necessarily putting an end to the
practice itself. For many years, it has proven to be a very
effective way to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS from and among
IDUs (Injecting Drug Users) in various countries.